Heartbeat
by Flames and Fairy Tales
Summary: After a scare during a case, things get a little heated between Lockwood and Lucy


Lockwood and I were silent after finishing the case that evening. Silent during the cab ride home, silent as we took off our coats and deposited our equipment in the cellar, silent as we ate a quick sandwich in the kitchen. We didn't even break the silence as we climbed the stairs to the first floor landing.

Only when we were standing in front of the door to Lockwood's bedroom, did Lockwood speak.

"I am sorry about tonight, Lucy," he whispered. He was staring at me intently, his dark eyes searching my face as if he was trying to read my emotions.

"You promised me you'd be more careful." I said, putting a mighty effort into keeping my voice steady. The case we'd been on was supposed to be simple, a Type One ghost we could snuff out with just the two of us. Holly had gone home early and George had stayed behind because we assumed it would be a quick job. Do a survey, locate the manifestation and its Vanishing Point, seal the source.

Instead, we had been taken by surprise by a second Visitor, a Phantasm that had materialized right in front of Lockwood when he had opened the door to a storage room. Its outstretched fingers had been _so close_ to touching Lockwood, and I had been too far away to do anything about it, because he had gone ahead.

"I was terrified, Lockwood…" I confessed and bit my lip. My voice had risen, and I didn't want to risk waking up George, who'd gone to bed before we came home.

"Luce…" Lockwood reached up to cup my face, and I blinked away the tears that had welled up as I told him how I'd felt. He leant forward and pulled me into a quick hug.

"I'm still here, Lucy. Nothing happened." He pulled back and looked me in the eyes again. I had to swallow around the lump in my throat.

"It was so close though, Lockwood," I managed. My voice was shaky, and Lockwood's frown deepened. "All I can think about, is how close you came to death _again_ tonight…" Lockwood shook his head, and opened the door to his room. For a moment I thought he would leave me standing there on the landing, avoid the argument like he used to do when they were about his past or his feelings, but instead he gently grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

"It was bad luck, Luce…" He said softly as he pulled the door closed behind us. "I'm sorry I scared you like that, but I didn't know there would be a second Visitor either." He walked over to his bed and clicked the lamp on his nightstand on. The golden glow lit up his room and cast large shadows behind us.

"I know…" I sighed after a moment. "But an inch closer, and it would've touched your chest…" And that would've been the end. Minor Ghost Touch to an extremity could be treated – even if it had been as much as 20 minutes since the initial contact – but on the torso it spread to the heart so quickly that the victim died within seconds.

Lockwood sat down on his bed. He took off his shoes, put them underneath the bed, and patted the space on the duvet beside him.

"Come sit with me for a moment, you'll be having nightmares if you don't calm down before you go to sleep."

"And whose fault is that?" I muttered as I undid the laces of my boots and took them off before I walking over. In the back of my mind I knew it wasn't _really his_ fault, but the terror still hadn't left me. My fingers had yet to stop shaking.

The mattress sagged a bit as I sat down, and I half fell against Lockwood's side. Without missing a beat he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. With the other hand he took off his tie and put it on the nightstand.

"We're both safe, Lucy," He whispered before pressing a kiss into my hair. "I'll admit it was a close call tonight, but we both made it back without injuries."

I could only nod. I put my head on his shoulder and enjoyed the proximity. Being so close to him made me feel good, safe even.

I took a deep breath, partially to calm my nerves, partially to inhale the scent of Lockwood's subtle cologne. The familiar smell always made my heart jump. Even now, when it was mingled with the scent of his sweat and the dusty storage room.

"I had just hoped that with Marissa gone, we would have less close calls," I admitted after a moment. "That I wouldn't have to worry about finding you dead anymore…"

Lockwood didn't reply verbally. Instead he tilted my chin up and pressed his lips against mine. I responded automatically, kissing back with enthusiasm. His lips were soft and warm, in contrast to my own. Despite regularly applying lip balm, my lips stayed somewhat dry and chapped. The kiss was short–Lockwood pulled away before I could do anything to deepen it–but my eyes had fallen shut, and I hadn't noticed he had undone the top three buttons of his white shirt until he grabbed my right hand and I opened my eyes.

I opened my mouth to ask what he was dong when he guided my hand into his shirt and placed my palm over his chest. The feeling of his warm skin against my hand made my stomach flutter, and I looked up at his face with wide eyes.

"You can feel it right?" Lockwood asked softly. "My heartbeat?"

I nodded. I could feel his pulse beneath my palm; strong, steady, and just a little faster than normal.

"I'm sorry for scaring you tonight, Lucy, but we're both safe. I am still alive, and I'm not planning on dying any time soon."

"I know," I replied and leant in for another peck. Lockwood had other plans though. He cupped my face and deepened the kiss before snaking his arms around my waist and pulling me into his lap.

I wrapped my left arm around his neck, but kept my right hand in his shirt. I wanted to feel more of his bare skin beneath my fingers, so I slowly traced little circles on his chest. His heartbeat sped up under my palm, and I smiled against his lips. In the time we'd been together, we hadn't gone further than kissing–or well, snogging really. The one time things _had_ seemed to get further, George had come back from the archives early and we had been forced to pull apart for fear of him walking in on us.

With George fast asleep there was little reason to hold back, so I tangled my fingers into Lockwood's dark hair and gave a soft tug. Lockwood gasped, giving me exactly what I wanted.

God, I couldn't get enough of this, having him so close. My body felt hot, and when one of Lockwood's hands strayed to my bottom, I decided I wanted more.

My fingers trembled a little as I lent back a bit and reached between us to undo the last few buttons of Lockwood's shirt. I managed though, and soon I had a good view of his toned chest. All those hours spend fencing had done wonders for his physique.

"Lucy?" Lockwood asked suddenly, and I tore my gaze from his chest to look into his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Are you- Do you want to go further?" I found myself nodding before he'd even finished the question, but then his hesitation registered in my mind.

"I do, but if you aren't rea- "

He cut me off with another open-mouthed kiss. It was warm, passionate and robbed me off my breath. Taking it for consent, I slowly slid the shirt down his shoulders. He let go of my waist to shrug it off and toss it to the floor behind me before tugging the hem of my jumper out of my skirt. I shuddered a little as his warm fingertips brushed across my skin and quickly helped him pull my jumper off.

Only now that I was shirtless in his lap, did the reality of the situation kick in, and I froze in embarrassment. I still wasn't quite happy with my body, and the bra I was wearing at the moment wasn't particularly flattering. On nights we had a case I always chose comfort over looks, so no lace or pretty embroidery here.

Lockwood didn't seem to care though. He was staring at my chest with wide eyes and flushed cheeks before reaching out to touch my breasts through the fabric of my bra.

"Take it off," I sighed. The soft pressure of his fingers was nice but muffled by the cotton fabric, and I wanted to feel it directly on my skin.

"Right," Lockwood replied, sounding a little strangled. He pulled me closer, making me collide with his chest and let his hands wander up to the clasp of my bra. He kissed my neck, gently nipped and sucked at the skin there until he found a spot that made me moan.

I anxiously waited for the tightness of my bra to fall away. And waited. Lockwood stopped sucking a hickey into my neck and leant across my shoulder.

"What is it?" I asked. I couldn't see his face in this position, but his posture had stiffened a bit as if he was concentrating heavily.

"It's not coming loose," He admitted after another moment of fiddling.

And just like that, the tension fell away. Lockwood was just as new to all of this as I was. He was eager and passionate, sure, but also inexperienced. With a giggle I reached behind my back and pulled the little hooks out of the eyelets. The shoulder straps slipped down my arms almost immediately after the band had snapped open, revealing my breasts.

Lockwood swallowed audibly, staring at my breasts with such an intense look in his eyes I had to fight the urge to cover them.

"Beautiful," he breathed. "Can I touch them?"

By way of answering, I took his hands and placed them on my chest. If possible, his eyes grew even wider. He squeezed gently, then rubbed little circles around my nipples with his thumbs. He continued tentatively playing with my boobs until I was a gasping mess in his lap. My eyes fell shut, and I lost myself in the sensation.

"Anthony," I mumbled. Using his last name while we were doing something so intimate felt wrong.

It was like a switch had been flicked, a sharp light entered his eyes and a smirk grew around his lips. At once he was the strong-willed Lockwood I knew from our cases, the boy who was driven by adrenaline and took charge.

He wrapped an arm around my bottom and lifted me up. He turned around, laid me down and climbed onto the bed in between my legs.

Lockwood held himself up with one hand next to my head, and with the other caressed my stomach, fingers drifting ever closer to the waistband of my skirt. I wrapped one arm around his neck to pull him into a kiss and let the other slide down along his spine. He shuddered lightly and pulled down my skirt. The elastic stretched a little, catching on my leggings and pulling them down along with it.

I lifted my hips up a bit so Lockwood could pull them off entirely, and after a mere moment of hesitation slid off my panties as well.

"Wow," Lockwood breathed. It was like he was afraid that it would destroy the moment if he spoke out loud. "You look so good…"

"So do you," I managed. "Although I'd like for those trousers to come off." He gave a husky little laugh, but reached for his fly without protest.

"If the lady wishes it," he whispered into my ear.

He took of his trousers and his boxers in one go, and now it was my turn to ogle him. Lockwood's hair was messy from when I'd ran my fingers through it, his pupils were blown wider than necessary in the low light of his bedside lamp, his skin was flushed down to his shoulders, and –the sight sent a jolt of anticipation through my core– he was hard. _Very_ hard…

Then he was leaning over me again, kissing whatever part of my exposed skin closest to his lips and letting his hand wander across the inside of my thigh, up and up, ever closer to my pussy. He wasted no time and ran a finger through my lower lips. I cried out as he brushed past my clit; the touch sending electricity up my spine and making my head spin.

"Ah, Anthony!"

Lockwood smiled against my collarbone and continued trailing his fingers up and down. He gently nipped at my throat again and dipped his finger into me.

A sharp hiss escaped me, and he paused, looking up with concerned eyes.

"Care-careful with your nails,"

He nodded and pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth, "Sorry Luce." He adjusted the position of his finger and pumped in and out a few times before adding a second one. His fingers were longer than mine and reached places I hadn't been able to touch myself. It didn't take much then. A few more pumps of his fingers, a grind of his palm across my clit and I came with a cry of his name.

Lockwood pulled out his fingers and patiently waited for me to get back down to earth. With a large, lopsided smile he brushed my bangs out of my face with his clean hand while he wiped the other on his duvet.

"Feeling good?" he asked softly. He chuckled when all I could do was nod, so I swatted his shoulder without any real power. "Don't make fun of me," I complained, and he chuckled again.

"I'm not," he promised. "God that looked amazing,"

"felt it too," I admitted.

I propped myself up on an elbow and felt my leg brush against his dick as I scooted back a bit to sit up. Lockwood sucked in a breath through his teeth and I raised an eyebrow.

"Want me to give you a hand with that?"

He hesitated; suddenly somewhat bashful, which was rather amusing considering what he'd just done to me.

"I was hoping we could…" he trailed of.

"Have sex?" I finished for him.

"Well yes, but not if you don't want to," he said hurriedly. "I'd be fine if you just… gave me a hand, so don't feel like you have to. I don't want to pressure you into anything. Would it even still feel good for you after-" he bit his lip. "I'm rambling, sorry…"

Lockwood's cheeks had flushed from embarrassment and he avoided my eyes. He was still touching me, but his hand had stilled and it seemed like he was frozen while waiting for my reaction. A giant wave of affection hit me, and it forced a giggle out of me. Lockwood's eyes snapped up to meet mine, and I smiled at him.

"Come here," I said, holding out my arms. He moved into the embrace and for a moment we just held each other. "I do want to Anthony, don't worry."

Then a different thought flitted through my mind. "Do you have condoms? Because I do not want to risk getting pregnant"

Lockwood nodded and climbed of the bed. He rifled through the drawer of his bedside table and then triumphantly held up two foil packets. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Quill gave them to me after we told everybody we're going out. Thought he was funny…"

I gave a little laugh. "You should thank him, then" Lockwood scoffed, but he sounded amused to me. He dropped one of the packets back into the drawer and tore the other open as he made his way back to the bed.

I watched in fascination as he gave his dick a quick stroke and then rolled the condom on before climbing back onto the bed.

"We can still stop," Lockwood said as he crawled back in between my legs.

"Oh, for god's sake, Anthony," I replied. "Just fuck me."

He lined himself up with me and pushed in excruciatingly slowly. It was a strange feeling, bordering on painful. Like being stretched almost to the point of tearing, but not quite. I let out a little groan, and Lockwood froze in an instant.

"Are you okay?" He asked, putting his forehead against mine. I took a deep breath and nodded. "Just need a moment," I managed. "Feels odd"

Soon the discomfort lessened, and I told Lockwood to move. He was tentative at first, treating me as if I were made of porcelain and would break if he was any rougher. I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled him closer, drawing a low moan from his lips.

This little encouragement was all he needed. His thrusts became a little more forceful as he tried to find an angle that would feel good for me as well. Lockwood soon found a rhythm that had us both moaning, and I savoured every sound he made. Sweat gleamed on his skin and I could hardly believe how beautiful he looked right then. Soon his thrusts became more erratic.

"I'm gonna come soon," he gasped. He reached in between us and rubbed his fingers up and down my clit. It was all the extra stimulation I needed, and again I cried his name as I came, drawing my legs closer to myself and forcing Lockwood deeper inside me.

He followed pretty much immediately, capturing my lips in an intense kiss as he came as well.

For a while we just lay there, waiting for our heartbeats to slow and our breathing to even out. Then Lockwood rolled off of me and with stiff movements got up to dispose of the condom in the wastebasket next to his chest of drawers. I yawned and put my arm across his chest as he settled down next to me and drew the covers over us.

"That was really good," I managed after a moment of silence, in which I felt his heartbeat underneath my fingers. Funny that that was how it had started… Lockwood let out a little chuckle. "It was," he agreed, gently brushing my hair out of my face. He lazily reached out to his bedside table, and after two or three tries hit the switch to turn the light off.

The next morning I woke up to a soft touch and a whisper of my name.

"Luce, wake up," Lockwood said softly, caressing my cheek with the back of his fingers. I reluctantly cracked one eye open, to see that it was still somewhat dark in his room.

"What is it?" I croaked out; really not ready to face the day yet. Lockwood's bed was warm and comfortable, and I felt like I could sleep forever with him holding me.

"George will wake up soon, if you want to get upstairs without him seeing you, you need to get up now." He said softly. There was a rare softness to his face that made my chest feel warm.

"Don't want him to see me coming out of your room?" I asked in mock-anger. Lockwood just let out a soft laugh and leant forward to place a kiss on forehead.

"Not looking like this," he said, and let his hand wander across the bare skin of my side for emphasis.

Hesitantly I got out from under the covers, shivering as the cool air hit my skin. With some effort I located my panties and slipped them on before picking up my sweater. As I brought the fabric up to my face, I cringed. It smelled exactly like all my clothes smelt after cases, rank with the sweat of fear, dusty and like burning ectoplasm.

"Just take one of my shirts," Lockwood offered from the bed. "They're in the upper drawer."

His shirt fell half way down my thighs, and I had to roll up the sleeves to keep them from slipping down over my hands, but all the same I liked wearing Lockwood's shirts. I walked back over to the bed and gave Lockwood a quick kiss.

"See you later."

"Bye Love," he replied before burrowing down in his sheets again.

I gathered my clothes and slipped out of his room. I hurried down the landing, up the stairs and into my attic room. I dumped my clothes on my chair, changed my underwear, and sat down on my bed. It was still early; I could get some more sleep and take a shower when I woke up again.

I had just lain down in my bed and closed my eyes when I felt the slightest pressure in my head. I snapped my eyes back open, but at first I didn't recognize where it had come from. Then a familiar, grating chuckle sounded in my inner ear.

" _Well, it took you over two years, more near-death experiences than I can count, and a fight with a geriatric madwoman, but you finally slept with Lockwood."_

 **A/N: Well, there was a demand, and somebody had to write it! Writing smut was a first for me. And I barely had a clue what I was doing, so please let me know what you think!**


End file.
